ADB chief unveils new plan for development financing

ASIAN Development Bank president Takehiko Nakao plans to gear up the bank's operations in a way he says will greatly expand its impact in infrastructure and other areas of development. And, it will not require extra funds from shareholders or donors.

By combining soft-loan funds provided by donors with the bank's ordinary capital, Mr Nakao's plan will allow the ADB to leverage its expanded equity base more effectively and be a more muscular player in development financing, he said.

The ADB chief unveiled the plan yesterday at the opening of the ADB annual meeting in the Kazakhstan capital of Astana. "No other multilateral development bank has done anything like this," he said.